Lakers guard Lonzo Ball gestures after dunking during the first half of a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on Monday at Staples Center. Ball’s status for Sunday’s game in Las Vegas is still undecided. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

EL SEGUNDO — Lonzo Ball’s debut as a Laker was entirely forgettable. The prized rookie arrived at the Las Vegas Summer League with massive expectations and promptly clanked 13 shots, including 10 3-point attempts. Ball’s father, LaVar, called it his “worst game ever.”

What came next was the most important lesson Ball learned in Las Vegas, where the Lakers will play a preseason game against Sacramento on Sunday.

“Once you play a game forget about it and move on,” Ball said. “In college you get a week. You can sit up, sit back and watch film and stuff. But the NBA it’s a quick turnaround.”

Ball obviously recovered just fine. He averaged 16.3 points over the six games he played, leading the field in assists (9.3 per game), and was crowned Summer League MVP en route to a Lakers tournament championship.

“I just went out there and played the game I know how to play,” Ball said. “Started slow, finished strong. That’s all there was to it.”

The No. 2 overall pick in June’s draft, Ball was a limited participant in Lakers practice on Friday. He is still recovering from the sprained left ankle he suffered in Monday’s loss to Denver. The mild injury kept him out of an exhibition game Wednesday in Ontario, and could prevent him for playing Sunday.

“I’ll make the trip,” Ball said, “but whether I’ll play or not it’s too tough to tell.”

On Friday, Ball “went over some plays” but was held out of the five-on-five portions of the practice.

“Just being out there with my team,” Ball said. “Showing them I’m still here for them. Regardless of whether I play Sunday or not, I’m going to be here.”

Coach Luke Walton said Ball would have played Wednesday had the regular season already begun, but given that it’s still the exhibition season there is no reason to rush him back.

“We would love to have him out there obviously,” Walton said. “But … if he is not ready to go then he won’t play.”

For Walton, watching Ball at summer league proved “he is capable of doing it at this level.”

It didn’t matter that the rosters were populated mostly by rookies and a lot of players who will never make it to the NBA.

“He makes the gym exciting to be in,” Walton said. “I was just observing out there and kind of evaluating. When he is playing basketball it is fun to sit there and watch. That is what he is going to bring to our team.”

In two preseason games before spraining his ankle, Ball averaged 6.5 points, 6 assists and 4.5 rebounds.

Forward Brandon Ingram, who missed Wednesday’s game with a bruised head, was a full participant on Friday and is listed as probable for Sunday.

NUMBERS AS NEWS

It was only a few years ago that the Lakers were viewed as well behind the curve in the analytics movement. That has certainly changed, and on Friday the team announced a new director of basketball analytics.

A Harvard graduate, Jason Rosenfeld previously had the same title working in the league office, where he developed new statistics – like hustle plays – to better evaluate players.

In May, Rosenfeld’s predecessor, Yuju Lee, resigned from the position rather than accept a demotion, according to an ESPN report.

Bill Oram covers the Los Angeles Lakers for the Southern California News Group. He covered the Utah Jazz for the Salt Lake Tribune. He is the (usually) bearded guy in the background wearing a University of Montana hat.

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